Combustion of metal particles is desirable in the utilization of propellants and fuels for rocket propulsion. Burning metals add significantly to the improved performance of various propellants and are widely used in solid propellants and ramjet fuels. An increase in efficiency of metal combustion translates to major gains in rocket system performance.
Many metals have been used in fuels. For example, aluminum, titanium and magnesium are metals which have commomly been used to increase performance in solid propellants and ramjet fuels in the past. However, metals differ in their energy release during combustion, making some metals a better choice than others in rocket systems.
Boron metal has not typically been used in the past because of its poor combustion performance relative to some of the more conventionally used metals. Boron metal is less efficient in its combustion than some other metals due to the nature of the oxide coating formed while heating the boron metal to its ignition temperature. The boron oxide formed is a low melting, viscous liquid during heating and initiates agglomeration of the individual boron particles. These large boron agglomerates are less efficient in their combustion than are the original small particles. However, boron gives a high energy release during combustion and would be preferred to other metals if a method could be found to stop the agglomeration of the boron particles.
Accordingly, there has been a continuing search in the art for a method to stop agglomeration of the boron particles producing a more efficient combustion.